Tormented Loved: Revised Edition with new plot
by WinryRockbell6390
Summary: Genre&Rating may change. Niki is a genius by her friends' standards & a hardworker at Kaiba Corp. But when she gets a new promotion that gets her closer 2 the CEO, sparks fly! & not 2 mention the twist of her most strangest dreams become a strange reality
1. Another Day Another Prank

**A/N: I got a couple reviews stating that my character was Mary-Sue…and when I reread my story…they were right! Well, this is the revised, version-with-hopefully-better-grammar, edited, whatever-you-want-to-call-it version of "Tormented Love"**

Chapter 1

Niki yawned as she stretched her arms. She looked at her computer screen one final time before shutting it down and packing all of her things. She'd worked 3 weeks non-stop – plus overtime – at Kaiba Corp. working on several papers, programs, etc. that her employer gave her.

Her raven hair lay in a messy bun hanging by the chopstick ornaments in her hair and her maroon eyes were dull and tired from the extra work she'd pushed in. At that moment she could've been mistaken for a 28-year-old instead of her actual age of 17 years.

She opened the door to her office and walked out. She roamed down the halls of Kaiba Corp. eager to get home to her soft bed. As she rode in the elevator she looked at her watch. 10:45. She'd been there since 4:30 after school had ended.

Working for her CEO, and classmate, hadn't been easy ever since she got to Domino but she made it work for her. They arranged her schedule around school and home time. She'd work from 4:30 to 9:45 on weekdays and work Sunday mornings from 6:00 to 1:30. She had Saturday off. She knew it was tight but she stuck to it, even putting in overtime when her work got interesting. She enjoyed her work and Kaiba didn't seem to complain.

Her first impression of him had been a cold, business-strict one. But the more she worked in the company not only was her intuition correct but he seemed to be egotistical and work-crazy. But no matter how cold his exterior was she had a feeling he wasn't always like that. Everyone noticed it when his brother and VP of Kaiba Corp., Mokuba, came around. Even Kaiba's hard shell had seemed to break a bit when the boy was around.

She stepped out of the elevator and out of the company building. She cursed herself as she noticed the pouring rain from underneath the patio roof of the building. Niki covered her head with her suitcase and ran to her car. She unlocked it and rushed into the driver's seat. Starting the engine she sat there and sighed to herself. She had to face the torment of her nanny/friend, Gloria. She loved Gloria like a sister but she was so uptight it caused Niki to go haywire at times.

She pulled out of the parking lot towards her house/estate. She'd always loved living in the suburbs like back when she was in Texas. The suburbs of Dallas were busy but they still were nothing compared to the hush hours of the actual city. But when she was sent to Japan, her aunt gave her a literally life-savings worth of money to thrive on. Niki used the money wisely to buy her a house and needy things first before blowing it on new clothes.

Niki may have seemed "perfect" but she far from it. She was much of a klutz and constantly hurting herself. Not only that, she had the bad habit of smoking back in Dallas. She had quit only weeks before she started working for Kaiba Corp. and often had the craving for a smoke or two. She promised herself to quit and fought of the urges.

She parked the car in her garage and ran upstairs avoiding Gloria at all possible. She turned on her bath and sat there as the tub filled. She sighed and glanced over at the full-view mirror that hung on the door. Her body, from an angle, seemed to be perfect. But if she turned you could see the mishaps in her figure. She had a near flat-chest and her hips were slightly too small. Her raven hair fell to her back and her maroon eyes gleamed in the steamy bathroom.

She sighed and grabbed a washcloth and undressed and stepped into the bath. She relaxed under the feel of the warm water against her sore body. She cringed as a knock on the door disturbed the room's peace.

"Yes?"

"Miss Niki! When did you get back?" Gloria's elderly voice snapped from behind the door, "where you working overtime at Kaiba Corp. again?"

Niki groaned, "yes, Gloria! But I'll be done for a while, promise!"

"You better be! Your foster parents wanted me to look after you! That also means saving you from the clutches of that workaholic you call a boss!"

Niki laughed at Gloria's comment, "I know, Gloria. Let me finish up."

"Fine, your dinner's on the nightstand. And I took the liberty of clearing all business from your schedule tomorrow!"

Niki sat upright in the tub in alarm, "what? Who gave you permission? What if it's something important?"

"One day off won't kill you, Niki Walker!"

Niki laid back in the tub, "why me…?"

* * *

The sun's screaming rays woke residents of the Walker house, Niki being one. She groaned and looked at her clock. 6:30. School started soon. She sighed and strode out of bed with hesitation. She squeaked as her ankle was tangled in the sheets and her face met the beige carpet first.

"Ow…" Niki groaned. She pulled herself up, untangling her ankle and walked over to her closet. She pulled out her school uniform from her closet and quickly dressed. She put her hair into a high ponytail, the end reaching a little past her shoulders.

"Niki?" Gloria's voice echoed from behind the door as Niki put on her shoes.

"Yes, Gloria?" Niki answered opening the door.

Gloria stood there, her elderly features visible to the naked eye. Her silver eyes were dull and worn out and her usually well managed brown hair seemed to be getting a few gray hairs. The woman was in her early 40's but was usually mistaken for a mid-30's woman.

"Good, you're up. Yugi and Joey are downstairs for you," her chiming voice rung in Niki's ears clearly. The younger woman just nodded and walked downstairs to meet her friends.

Yugi stood from his seat on the couch and turned the TV off and was about to go get Joey, who had helped himself to the food in the kitchen, when Niki walked in. "hey, Niki. You look tired," the tri-haired boy greeted.

Niki smiled and scratched the back of her head, "what can I say? I was working overtime…I don't really need the money but I get so caught up in my work."

Yugi laughed, "That's you. The computer wiz."

Niki blushed in embarrassment, "I'm no wiz. I'm not really that good…"

"You know more than me! All I can do is work Microsoft word and I need help with even that!" the two chuckled at the comment as the blonde-haired boy walked out of the kitchen with a soda and sandwich about a foot tall in his hands.

Niki smiled at him, "you ready to go?"

Joey gulped down the bite of his sandwich and nodded, "yeah, the others are meeting us at school."

Niki sat at her desk next to Duke and Joey near the back. She sighed as the teacher instructed them to take out their textbooks. The class froze when the door opened to reveal Seto Kaiba.

"nice of you to join us, Mr. Kaiba," The teacher said sternly, "take your seat, please. May I ask why you were tardy?"

Kaiba turned his gaze from the teacher to Niki much to her shock, "I was busy with some unfinished projects at the company thanks to a few _employees_."

Niki held back a growl, _'heartless $$hole!'_ She glared as he walked past her his suitcase knocking her book of the desk.

He smirked at her, "whoops. Can you get that?" Niki frowned at his attitude. Oh how she hated his attitude towards her.

"yeah, no problem," she said sarcastically. She picked up her book and turned around and smirked, "oh yeah, be careful…"

Kaiba frowned as he noticed her smirk. As the teacher was called out he sat down only to meet the ground in a junk heap of what used to be his desk. The class busted into laughter at the CEO's little klutz moment.

Niki laughed along with the class but halted when Kaiba's cold blue eyes locked on her. She gulped knowing she may have risked her job on that little prank.

"I want you in my office right after school, Miss Walker," he said through clenched teeth grabbing his suitcase taking a seat near his old one. Oh yeah, she SERIOUSLY risked her job on that little prank.


	2. Frustration & Confusion

Chapter 2

Niki straightened her school uniform as the elevator stopped on the 25th floor. She walked into the hall and passed the secretary who was talking to Kaiba through the intercom apparently telling him of her arrival.

She took a deep breath and entered the office and closed the door behind her, "Mr. Kaiba?"

Kaiba's cold eyes moved away from his laptop and locked on her, "sit."

Niki took her place at one of the chairs near his desk, "you wanted to see me?"

His eyes narrowed at her, "you know, I **should** fire you on account of that prank of yours today."

Niki held in a groan, "no offense, sir, but it was just a prank. Besides, I didn't even sabotage it. Two boys in class did it." _'for ME of course…'_

His glare intensified, "so you say."

Niki frowned, "Sir, it was JUST a school prank! No need to get so serious!"

He stood up wit a growl, "if you haven't noticed, Miss Walker, I have a company to run! I have to be serious! Now, I'll overlook this if you drop the subject!"

Niki stood up, "and I appreciate that but you need to be more lenient, sir!"

He clenched his fists, "if you haven't noticed, I'm being lenient with you now. So I suggest you leave before I change my mind. Just be thankful you're one of my best workers. Now leave."

Niki stood up sharply and glared at him, "sir, with all due respect, why are you so cold-hearted?"

"I said GET OUT!" he snarled making Niki jump in fear. She narrowed her eyes and walked out the office trying with all her strength not to slam the door. Kaiba sighed and rubbed his forehead with his two forefingers, "why me? why does my best worker have to be the most stressful one to work with?"

* * *

Niki slammed her office door and took a deep breath to keep from screaming in frustration. Why had she snapped like that? She never had before. Was it from overwork? Lack of sleep? Either way she was exhausted to the point she could just drop to the floor and fall into a unconscious state.

She sat at her desk and sighed. She looked over to her phone and noticed two messages. She pressed the playback button and leaned back in her chair while playing with a pencil in her right hand.

"_hey Niki, it's me."_ Came Joey's voice, _"the gang and I were just wonderin' if ya wanted to hang at the arcade after you got off…" _His voice seemed to trail off, _"well…anyway…call me back when you get this message. Later."_

She sighed as she heard the beep signaling the end of the message. Not only did she hate the egotistical bastard she called a 'boss' for making her work long hours, she hated him for keeping her from her social life. Her raven hair flew forward as she shot upright at the sound of the person in the next message.

"Miss Walk…um…Niki, can you stop by my office before you leave? I want to talk to you."

Curiosity, shock, and anger struck her as she recognized the voice to belong to Kaiba. She looked at the digital timer on her phone to see the call was from last night when she worked overtime. 10:56. She had left about ten minutes earlier that night.

'_why on earth would he want to see me?'_ Niki thought, _'I thought he'd gone home last night…'_

Niki groaned and looked at her watch. 5:25. She stood up and grabbed her suitcase packing it with all her necessary paperwork. She opened her door and walked out with her head down only to bump into something making her crash to the floor.

She brushed her raven hair out of her face and started to pick up her papers that fell from her suitcase. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking!" She apologized standing up with her messily stuffed suitcase in her arms.

"Apparently," a cold voice said making her stop in her tracks. Niki looked up to meet a pair of cold blue eyes.

"M-Mr. Kaiba! Sorry!" she apologized more direct this time, "I was just-"

"being careless," he interrupted, "why leaving so soon?"

Niki sighed and rubbed her forehead with her two forefingers (A/N: Deja vu! XD), "I'm not feeling all that well…I think I've just been pushing myself too hard…"

He stepped to the side his cold gaze never lifting, "get home and get some rest then."

Niki blinked and looked up at him. Her maroon eyes looked into his blue ones asking why he was being so nice. Unlike her soft, tired ones his were emotionless and cold not letting her find out her answer. "Thank you," were the only words she could mutter from being lost in his eyes. She turned away from him and continued her way to her car outside the building.


	3. Promotion

Chapter 3

Her pencil collided with her book as she held her head in her hands in frustration. Why had he been so nice to her? and just after that incident in his office! Her raven hair fell around her like a curtain as she sighed.

'_why is it that after one simple act of kindness from him I start thinking about him non-stop!' _She thought sitting upright. She glanced at her homework one last time before getting up and leaving the room.

She leaned against her door and sighed again. A cold chill swept over her making her slightly jerk her spine forward. An constant uneasiness churned in her stomach as she started walking to the kitchen.

Sweat covered her forehead as her body became heavy and her breaths shortened. She fell to her knees and clutched at her heart gasping for air. _'what's wrong with me? The pain…'_ She fell onto her side gasping for help from anyone. As darkness overcame her a ghostly figure appeared before her. The only thing catching her attention was violet eyes.

"_Niki?" _a voice called. _"Niki?" _She groaned as a bright light disturbed her eyesight. She opened her eyes to meet violet ones. She gasped and sat upright in shock.

"Who are you?" she said his soft yet controlling violet eyes capturing her maroon ones.

"It's me! Yugi!" the boy said. Niki blinked a couple times and the once intoxicating violet eyes became the familiar blue-purple eyes that belonged to her friend.

"Yugi?" Niki said as if the name was foreign to her.

Yugi grabbed the towel that was once on the raven-haired girl's forehead and placed it in a water bowl, "how are you feeling? When Gloria let me in I found you knocked out in the hallway."

Niki rested her head in her hand, "I…I don't know what happened…there was a numbing pain in my chest and then the next thing I know…everything was dark…"

Yugi ran his hand through his spiky hair, "well, you feeling any better now?"

Niki nodded slowly, "the pain's gone…what time is it?"

Yugi looked at his watch, "about 7:30…school's started but I wanted to make sure you were alright first."

Niki smiled at him, "thanks Yugi…" The tri-colored hair boy just smiled in return.

* * *

Niki paused from her current task on her computer and sighed. She still wondered what had happened to her. Never before had it happened to her. 

"_Miss Walker,"_ Kaiba's secretary spoke from her intercom on Niki's phone, _"Mr. Kaiba wants to speak with you."_

Niki blinked, _'why does he want to see me? I stopped messing with him, yeesh!' _"I'm coming." She stood from her desk and headed to the elevator that took her to the 25th floor.

* * *

She stepped into Kaiba's office closing the door behind her. The CEO was typing away at his laptop apparently not noticing her enter the room. Her maroon eyes stared at him with the most utter interest. His short brown hair fell slightly over his deathly entrancing blue eyes giving him a eerie mystique.

Too lost in her thoughts she didn't noticed the brunette staring at her in equal curiosity. "Afternoon, Niki," his voice echoed in her head.

She blinked away all her thoughts and answered, "Afternoon, Mr. Kaiba. You wished to speak with me?" He motioned for her to sit which she did so in a ladylike manner.

"I did," he said closing his laptop, "your work here has improved from when you first started."

"thank you," she said shyly holding back a blush.

He nodded and continued, "and I don't offer this opportunity to anyone, Miss Walker. So think long and hard. But I wish for you to work as one of my top employees in the engineering area."

Niki's face lit up as a smile crawled onto her face, "you sure about this, sir?"

A smirk evident on his face he nodded, "I haven't been so sure about anything. Now, do you accept or decline?"

Niki stood up quickly almost losing her balance in the process, "of course I do! I've always wanted this position! Sir, thank you so much!"

Kaiba leaned back in his seat and nodded, "you'll start tomorrow. One of the employees in that area will help you when you make your transition."

Niki held back a joyful scream, "thank you, sir! I won't disappoint you!" Kaiba watched as she left practically skipping away. A smirk crept to his face as he opened his laptop.

_'I'd like to see how she will do as an engineer…if she's good, maybe I'll consider Rose's offer…'_


	4. New Job

Chapter 4

Niki ran out of her classroom eager to get to her new position at Kaiba Corp. She stuffed everything in her locker and closed it and ran to try and find Tristen for she rode with him on his bike that morning.

She ran out onto the school courtyard and looked around. She called out Tristen's name only for it to be cut short as she tripped against a rock. Her eyes clutched closed as she embraced for her impact with the ground.

"You ok?" a male voice said. She opened her eyes to meet blue ones. Niki panicked as she realized she was in the arms of her boss.

"AH! Um, yeah, I'm fine," she said jumping out of his embrace and brushing off the dirt on her skirt, "th-thanks…"

He swung his suitcase over his shoulder and nodded, "you know you should be on your way to work."

'_I can say the same about you, Mr. CEO,'_ Niki looked at the ground, "I kinda…can't find my ride home. I decided to ride with my friend to school and he must've left already."

Kaiba looked away from her, "I'll give you a ride."

Niki looked up at him and smiled, "thank you." He just nodded in response and headed towards the front parking lot with Niki in tow.

Kaiba pressed the key chain button to unlock the doors to his black 2001 Altima. He opened the door for her as she got in. Once she was seated in the passenger side he got in the driver's and started the car.

Niki looked at her hands in her lap trying to hold in a blush. Wait…why WAS she blushing? She didn't LIKE him, did she? How could she? He was an egotistical, work-crazy, cold-hearted person! But most girls in school did want him because of his looks alone.

'_I can't like him…we're totally different…'_ She sighed and turned to look out the window. Maybe she DID like him. But she wasn't sure. Either way, he didn't have feelings for her. Ok, maybe annoyance and a little respect for her work but otherwise nothing.

"get out," his stern voice brought her back to reality. She got out of the car quickly and bowed to Kaiba respectfully.

"thank you, Mr. Kaiba. I appreciate the ride," she thanked him.

He swung his suitcase of his shoulder, "don't think of it as anything. It was a one-time deal. Got that?"

Niki held back a glare as she followed him inside. _'jerk…'_

* * *

He led her up to the 24th floor and into a special laboratory. 3 other employees were at work at their computers when the two walked in. When they noticed him they stood and bowed respectfully and returned to their jobs.

Kaiba led her to a woman about 20 with short blue hair and ice blue eyes. Her pale pink lips formed into a smile at the sight of the raven-haired girl and her boss. Niki bowed to the woman and faced Kaiba as he spoke.

"This is Aozora," Kaiba stated, "she will help you settle in."

Aozora bowed her neck-length hair falling in front of her face, "nice to meet you, miss…?"

"Niki," Niki introduced, "Niki Walker."

Aozora smiled innocently, "Miss Niki." The two females watched as Kaiba left. Aozora turned to the computer station behind her, "did Mr. Kaiba tell you what you would be doing?"

Niki shook her head, "he just stated that I'd be working in the engineering field of Kaiba Corp."

Aozora's face lit up, "good! I get to explain! You see, we help Mr. Kaiba run tests on his newest inventions." She pointed to the arena that laid below the office, "that arena is where he does his testing."

Niki smiled, "cool. What do I do?"

Aozora's eyes seemed to have a glint of mischief held within it, "you're the lucky one. You get to control the whole operation, aside of Mr Kaiba, alongside the Vice president."

Niki's eyes widened, "y-you mean I'm working with M-Mokuba Kaiba?" Aozora nodded as her smile faded.

"but be warned, Miss Niki," she said, "lots of the female employees would die to have our jobs. Especially yours because you get so close to Mr. Kaiba."

Niki blushed at the thought, "w-what? Are you saying I'm working WITH Kaiba?"

Aozora nodded then motioning for Niki to follow her into another room. Niki stepped into the office after Aozora to meet face-to-face with a boy about 10 or 11 with long black hair and blue eyes that entranced Niki as much as Kaiba's.

"this is Mr. Mokuba Kaiba, Vice president of Kaiba Corp.," Aozora introduced.

Mokuba smiled at Niki, "hi, are you Niki?" Niki nodded only to receive a bigger smile from the small boy confusing her. "I'm sure Aozora told you what you're doing, right?"

Niki nodded and bowed, "I can't wait to start."

Mokuba's face seemed to light up more at her reaction, if possible, _'she has to be her…there's no doubt about it…'_


	5. Sacrifice

**I noticed I get a ton of hits, which I am greatful for believe me! But I would like it if you all would review the chapter to tell me how I'm doing. I can't really continue a bad story now can I? But anyways, I think ya'll waited long enough for another chapter, right?  
- Kitten**

* * *

Chapter 5

Niki typed in a final formula for the project she'd recently gotten. Mokuba walked in with half a doughnut in his mouth and sat at his side of the office. Niki looked up from her computer and smiled at the boy.

"Hey Mokuba," she greeted. Mokuba returned the smile as best he could with his full mouth of the doughnut.

He swallowed the last of bit of the dough bread and said, "hi Niki. Seto's going to work on his dual disk system today. He wants us to help him run some tests on it."

"ok," Niki answered, "if it's what I've heard, it's quite the project. The top project in demand, am I right?"

Mokuba nodded as the arena doors opened. The two looked out the office window to see Kaiba walk out onto the arena with his test-needed dual disk. He looked up straight at them through the diamond-plated windows.

"Mokuba! Begin the testing!" he said sternly. Mokuba nodded and started typing away at his computer initiating the testing.

"Beginning test 1," Mokuba said into the intercom. Niki quickly got her computer at Mokuba's signal and watched the test through the computer simulator.

"Opponent system operational," Niki said into her intercom as she checked the testing status, "virtual system settings at 4--"

"Turn up the settings!" Kaiba's voice boomed in the nearly empty area room below the two offices.

Mokuba and Niki nodded. "Systems at 6--" Niki said tuning the settings.

"Higher! Put them at max power!" he commanded.

Both Niki and Mokuba looked at him in shock. "But Seto! It's too dangerous! What if you get hurt?" Mokuba warned.

"I agree with him, sir," Niki added, "the settings for the virtual system could end up destroying--"

"Don't give me that!" Kaiba snarled, "do as I say!"

Niki and Mokuba stared at each other with worry before she did as told. "Virtual system settings…at maximum power…Test 1…begin." The two watched as the virtual dual began between Kaiba and his machine.

Niki glanced at Mokuba his face full of worry. _'he's nervous about this too…why is Kaiba worrying his brother like this? He knows the dangers if he sustains damage to his life points…'_

Mokuba's gasp snapped her out her thoughts and she turned her head back to the simulator. Kaiba had lost 500 life points against the machine. He seemed to be in pain and clutching the arm that the dual disk rested on.

He drew a card and placed it on the field only to have it destroyed all to easily. Mokuba grabbed the intercom microphone and said, "Seto I beg you! we can turn down the settings! It's safer!"

"What if one of my disks malfunctions during the tournament?" Kaiba yelled up at them, "I need to test it on all level settings!"

Mokuba started to tremble, "but Seto…" Niki stood from her seat, unable to see Mokuba's mental torture any longer, and ran out of the office. Kaiba, noticing this, just closed his eyes and snickered to himself.

'_weak,'_ he thought to himself as he commanded the machine to take its turn in the duel.

"_Playing…Blue Eyes White Dragon,"_ the machine's voice stunned Kaiba in his situation. He'd been so preoccupied with his brother he'd forgotten to build up his defenses. _"attack with White lighting!"_ the machine commanded the virtual dragon.

Mokuba's eyes widened as tears fell as he watched the scene before him, "Seto! Move!"

Kaiba stood there frozen too stunned at his own mistake to think of protecting himself from the blast. As the dragon's blast collided with its target the room went dead silent as the white explosion erupted in the room.

Mokuba ran out of the office and onto the arena tears flowing unstoppably, "SETO! Seto are you alright?" The raven-haired boy froze at the sight before him. Relief swept over him as he saw Kaiba on his knees back facing his brother.

Mokuba ran to his front to face his older brother only to stop in mid-step as he saw an unconscious Niki lying stomach-down in Kaiba's arms. "no…"


	6. Battling Feelings

**A/N: Ok, to let readers know, Seto's kinda OOC in this chapter and may be for the next couple of chapters. Just a forewarning **

Chapter 6

'_where…? What…?'_ Niki groaned as she opened her eyes groggily. A pair of blue eyes stared down at her and she smiled in comfort. _'just like in my dream…what?'_

"Niki…you okay?" Mokuba's innocent voice reached her ears.

"Mokuba?" Niki said as her vision focused, "what happened?"

Mokuba's eyes filled with tears as he smiled and said, "you saved my brother. I don't know how to thank you, Niki!"

Niki smiled back at him, "it's nothing, really."

"why'd you do it?" Seto's cold, harsh voice asked form the nightstand next to her bed.

Niki's smile faded as a blush rushed to her cheeks. She turned her head away and said, "I…I don't know. I was going to leave when I heard what the simulator's card was. My curiosity got the better of me so I walked back. Then I heard Mokuba's voice…so I ran. It was purely instinct I guess…"

Seto walked over to her bedside next to Mokuba and sat on the edge of the bed. Niki turned her head towards him as she felt his hand holding her own. "I owe you, Miss Walker," he said emotionlessly.

Niki held back a whimper as he released her hand and watch him walk out of the room. _'my hand feels so cold now…his hand's so warm…'_

Mokuba smiled at Niki, "what do you think of my brother, Niki?"

Niki's face turned about 40 shades of red, _'what do I think? I don't know!'_ "he…I…why?"

Mokuba chuckled, "I just want to know. You like him don't you? I can tell you do!"

Niki turned her eyes away, "I don't know how I feel…it's too complicated to explain, Mokuba."

"then how about a test?" he asked.

"a test?" she repeated.

Mokuba nodded, "Aozora told me a while ago how to tell if you're in love with someone or not."

Niki sat up only to be met with a skull-splitting headache and laid back down. After she regained her senses she said, "ok…shoot."

Mokuba took a while before asking, "when you look at him do you seem to space out?" Niki blushed before nodding slightly against her pillow. "ok. um…you already answered the next question."

"what would that be?" Niki asked.

"would you risk your life for him?" Mokuba said with a smile, "um…hm…oh yeah! When he touches you, like hand on a shoulder, do feel comforted in a way?"

Niki looked up at the ceiling, "what if I said yes?"

Mokuba smiled, "then your results would be the same. I'd say you ARE in love!"

Niki shot upright, "WHAT?" Soon her vision blurred and she fell back onto the bed groaning in pain. Mokuba turned to the door as Seto rushed into the room.

"what's wrong?" he asked as if in a panic.

Mokuba sweatdropped, "it's nothing, big brother. Niki just sat up a little too fast when I told her something."

Seto seemed to calm down a bit at this, "did she pass out?"

Mokuba shook his head, "she's just a bit shaken up. She's still awake."

Seto placed his hand on Mokuba's shoulder, "come on. let's let her rest." Mokuba nodded and followed his brother out the room.

'_I…I can't be…how? Why? How'd this happen? Why HIM of all people?'_ Niki thought struggling with herself, _'sure he's been kind here and there but that was dealing with business! He's cold and heartless! Why'd I even save him?'_

Niki opened her eyes and soon realized her cheeks were stained with salt tears. _'why am I crying? This shouldn't even bother me! He's so work-obsessed! And I don't even like him!'_ She sighed and wiped away her tears, "besides…he doesn't like me…so it doesn't matter…" with that thought out of her mind she tried her best to sleep.

* * *

Seto threw his trench coat on his bed leaving him with only his black turtleneck and black pants. He walked out of his room and stopped at Niki's room door. He'd let her stay there until she felt better. He thought he would regret it but the strange thing…he never did.

He opened the door and walked in to see Niki sleeping on her side facing him. Her mouth slightly open and arm stretched over the edge of the bed. Her slightly pale form glowing in the dimly-lit room giving her more of an undead look than asleep.

Seto knelt down next to her and examined her features. Her maroon eyes were hidden to him but he'd fallen madly for them despite his denial. He brushed a strand of her raven hair out of her face and sighed. He wanted to admit his feelings for her, he really did. But his ego got in the way every time he encountered her.

He had called her office a couple weeks ago to tell her only to get her answering machine. And when he called her into his office for the promotion he wanted to tell her then as well. That's why he promoted her in the first place. To have her closer to him. But he just ended up hurting her. Something he had nightmares about.

Niki stirred a bit and he pulled his hand away. "Seto…" she sighed in her sleep. He froze. Had he heard right? She was dreaming about him! But was it good? Was it bad? He grazed the back of his hand across her cheek and her unsettling moving stopped almost instantly.

He smiled inwardly at her reaction. She had feelings for him! Or so he thought. He wasn't sure but he knew he had an effect on her. This he was grateful for. He looked down at her hand as he felt it grip his wrist shakily. "Seto…" she sighed again. He pulled her hand off and twisted it with his own and kissed the back of her hand.

"I'm right here…Niki…"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in SOOO long ; but thank you for those who are sticking with me. I've been stressed lately so you'll have to just grin and bare it like I am. Again, I apologize! bows millions of times until hip joint snaps OX  
R & R!**


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